Here are 75 books that Murder in Devil's Cove fans have personally recommended if you like
Murder in Devil's Cove.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
I’ve been fascinated by paranormal stories for years. One of the first books I truly loved was A Wrinkle in Time. I loved the Dragons of Pern, as well. As a girl, I read more stories featuring witches and magical creatures than one ought. But I also loved mysteries—Nancy Drew,as well as all the Agatha Christie books. At present, I’m working on my fifth Fairy Garden Mystery, and I recently completed a mystery novella featuring an elf. To round out the experience, I have personally crafted over fifty fairy gardens. I’m pretty certain a fairy spirit had something to do with my obsession... or perhaps it all started when I kissed the Blarney Stone.
Lily Ivory, who owns a vintage clothing shop in San Francisco, wants to fit in somewhere and conceal her “witchiness”.
She is spiritual and stylish and has a charming sense of humor. Just when life seems normal, she stumbles onto a spooky murder.
This book ticks off all the boxes for a fun and mentally stimulating read. Lily’s familiar is an adorable, witty pig. There’s a sexy myth buster who is enticing. And there’s a powerful warlock who is her nemesis.
Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her "witchiness" in San Francisco. It's there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically.
Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom?
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve been fascinated by paranormal stories for years. One of the first books I truly loved was A Wrinkle in Time. I loved the Dragons of Pern, as well. As a girl, I read more stories featuring witches and magical creatures than one ought. But I also loved mysteries—Nancy Drew,as well as all the Agatha Christie books. At present, I’m working on my fifth Fairy Garden Mystery, and I recently completed a mystery novella featuring an elf. To round out the experience, I have personally crafted over fifty fairy gardens. I’m pretty certain a fairy spirit had something to do with my obsession... or perhaps it all started when I kissed the Blarney Stone.
I love stories set in libraries. They take me back to my first days of reading and checking out books.
Carrie Singleton is the head of programs and events at a local library and is friends with the library’s very own ghost, Evelyn. When Carrie’s estranged father shows up and wants Carrie to help him recover his half of a rare gem heist, she’s conflicted.
When her father winds up in jail for a murder—she hopes he didn’t commit—she’s determined to discover the truth.
This is a delightful and spirited book—pun intended—and, yes, in addition to a wealth of library books, there is an adorable library cat named Smokey Joe.
Agatha Award Nominee: A cache of missing gems brings Carrie Singleton’s larcenous dad back into her life—and only she can clear his name
A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off…
I’ve been fascinated by paranormal stories for years. One of the first books I truly loved was A Wrinkle in Time. I loved the Dragons of Pern, as well. As a girl, I read more stories featuring witches and magical creatures than one ought. But I also loved mysteries—Nancy Drew,as well as all the Agatha Christie books. At present, I’m working on my fifth Fairy Garden Mystery, and I recently completed a mystery novella featuring an elf. To round out the experience, I have personally crafted over fifty fairy gardens. I’m pretty certain a fairy spirit had something to do with my obsession... or perhaps it all started when I kissed the Blarney Stone.
I so enjoyed this story about water witches that I included it as the book club read in my 4th book.
(Yes, in my books there are teas on Saturday afternoons at Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden shop.)
Before diving into A Spell for Trouble, I had no idea what a water witch was. Like me, the protagonist Aleksandra Daniels didn’t know much about them, either.
To a normal person, they might be considered mermaids, but they are much, much more! Aleksandra visits her aunt and cousins, having only heard the rumors about water witches being magical healers.
When she gets enmeshed in their world, she learns who she is at her core, and she discovers her passion.
I love when a story not only enthralls me but educates me. Truly enjoyable.
Fans of Ellery Adams and Heather Blake will be charmed by this seaside cozy mystery series full of humor and heart, mermaids and magic
Aleksandra Daniels hasn’t set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina in over twenty years. Ever since her mother’s tragic death, her father has mysteriously forbidden her from visiting her aunt and cousins. But on a whim, Alex accepts an invitation to visit her estranged relatives and to help them in their family business: an herbal apothecary known for its remarkably potent teas, salves, and folk remedies.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I’ve been fascinated by paranormal stories for years. One of the first books I truly loved was A Wrinkle in Time. I loved the Dragons of Pern, as well. As a girl, I read more stories featuring witches and magical creatures than one ought. But I also loved mysteries—Nancy Drew,as well as all the Agatha Christie books. At present, I’m working on my fifth Fairy Garden Mystery, and I recently completed a mystery novella featuring an elf. To round out the experience, I have personally crafted over fifty fairy gardens. I’m pretty certain a fairy spirit had something to do with my obsession... or perhaps it all started when I kissed the Blarney Stone.
Years ago, I met Gigi Pandian at a mystery conference. She is a gifted and spiritual woman. I adore her writing.
In this book, Zoe Faust, an alchemist, moves to the Northwest and discovers a stowaway in her luggage—a live gargoyle named Dorian who can cook French cuisine! Oh, man, wouldn’t you love to have a “familiar” that cooks?
Zoe moved, hoping to put her old life behind her, but she can’t when she discovers her new friend Dorian is turning to stone and only she can save him.
This story is clever beyond words. FYI, Gigi is a gargoyle expert! If you meet her, ask to see her collection of photographs.
"Filled with magic, intrigue, and humor, this series is sure to delight fans of cozy mysteries and urban fantasy."―Bookriot
A chance for a new beginning in Portland, Oregon. A stowaway from Paris. Can alchemist Zoe Faust solve the mystery of an ancient book in time to save her new friend? Don't miss the first novel in the award-winning series from USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian!
Unpacking her belongings in her new fixer-upper house, alchemist Zoe Faust can't help but notice she's picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing gargoyle―not to mention a master of French cuisine―and…
I have read thrillers for as long as I can remember reading adult novels. I can chart my life of reading from Robert Parker to David Baldacci to Jeffery Deaver and today’s luminaries such as Sarah Pekkanen, Mary Kubica, and all the authors listed below. While I love a good beach or airport read, the novels that stick with you—that make you want to clear your schedule because you need to sit and think about what you’ve just read—are my favorites.
A traumatizing incident that brings teens together, only to be rehashed years later when one of them goes missing during a storm in a secluded location? Megan Miranda’s book hits every mark for a must-read thriller.
I loved the weaved flashbacks, hinting at what happened without giving the full story, even until the end. Knowing enough about who survived—and who must not have—made every flashback fraught with foreboding tension. One of the things I love most in a book is when the story seems complete, and then one tiny extra detail is revealed, completely changing how you think.
I felt like I was there, both in the present at the Outer Banks beach house and in the past, on the banks of the river after the horrible bus crash.
Ten years ago, a tragic accident tore through a community.
Ever since, the nine survivors - just teenagers at the time - have met on the anniversary to remember those they lost. They made a promise to keep each other safe from harm. For Cassidy, always the outsider at school, this group has felt almost like friendship.
But this year, their reunion is overshadowed by death and the disappearance of one of their own. As the week unravels, Cassidy begins to fear something darker than survivors' guilt has bound them together. Was their pact to…
Free time is precious and in short supply, so when I can lose myself in a story, following it from beginning to end in just one sitting, I find it satisfying. Each of these books is a miniature masterpiece whose very length demands that the author pay attention to word choice, chapter structure, characterization, and plot. Readers must also pay attention because the pleasure of following these small gems is immediate and fierce. I’ve written two novellas so far, and I like to picture my readers—and the readers of the books listed here—lazing back against some squishy pillows, savoring their relaxation beverage, and losing themselves in other worlds.
I have tremendous admiration for the way this author created the characters, the epistolary structure, and the gorgeous, surprising, poetic, intimate, riveting prose that seems to effortlessly unravel as if it were the telling of a beautiful dream.
For me, the absolute proof of a novella‘s success is that you are left stunned and begging for more. I do want more, but at the very same time, I’m grateful for what I have and happy to relive it over and over again in my mind. Here is a book you’ll want to return to, so you can meet up again with this collection of unlikely soulmates.
Three strangers, connected only by a mesmerizing painting named Three Guesses, embark on an extraordinary journey of friendship. Compelled by their agreement to communicate only by mail, Sam Brooks of Memphis, Tennessee, Richard Mabry of Phoenix, Arizona, and Pete Wren of New York City reveal surprisingly intimate, personal details in a series of letters over the course of seven years. Then, as each contends with critical turning points in their lives, the unlikely trio breaks their mail-only pact and makes a life-changing decision to finally meet in person at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Humorous and heartbreaking, soulful and…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I’m a former newspaper reporter turned cozy mystery writer, tea blogger, and cookbook author. If there’s a book with tea in it, count me in. I love the beverage itself, the ritual of teatime, tea parties, collecting tea wares, and growing tea (I grow camellia sinensis at home). Of all the hobbies and passions I’ve had, exploring all things tea is the one that never gets old. And so far, I’ve managed to include at least a bit of tea in every book I’ve written.
In her Seaside Café Mysteries, Bree Baker has conjured a thoroughly modern tea shop with Surf, Sand, and Tea, a business located in an old Victorian home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Everly Swan (fun name!) has lots of varieties of iced tea on offer, and two elderly aunts bring some well-plotted family history into the mix. This series gives a modern-day spin to the tearoom enterprise, and this seven-book series ended far too soon for my taste.
In the second book of the popular Seaside Café Mysteries, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished, Everly Swan caters a high-profile beach wedding where the groom doesn't make it to the altar before the wedding bells ring.
Hitting All the sweet-tea spots, this series is:
A delightful Tea Shop and Café Culinary Mystery
The ideal cozy beach read
Perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Kate Carlisle
Catering her childhood friend's beachfront wedding was a dream come true for Sun, Sand and Tea Shop and Café owner Everly Swan—and the hundreds of guests in attendance would be great exposure for her…
The sound of waves rolling to shore. The scent of beach roses and salty air, mixed with suntan lotion. Breezy summer days with no agenda. This is the promised escape when I discover a cozy mystery with a waterfront cover. I’m immediately transported to a journey of respite with a sprinkle of intrigue tucked deep within the pages. The waterfront setting is one that I desire in both to read and to write, and I know I’m not alone. I’ve compiled a list of favorites for you when choosing a book that revolves around seaworthy things.
A sea of suspects intertwines in this oceanfront turbulent mystery.
Lucy, the protagonist, lives in an apartment on the 4th floor of the Lighthouse Library. Due to the pouring rain and crashing waves she notices lights that appear to be coming from the beach and a boat in trouble not far from shore. When one of these members of the boat shows up at her book group and then not long after is found washed up on shore, a mystery ensues.
The national bestselling author of The Spook in the Stacks returns with another charming mystery set in the most literary lighthouse in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Misfortune blows into North Carolina’s Outer Banks when a dead body in a boat on the shore leaves local librarian Lucy Richardson racing to solve a strange new mystery....
After a successful party at Bodie Island’s Lighthouse Library, librarian Lucy Richardson is ready to curl up with her cat, Charles, and a good book. But her R and R is cut short when she notices some mysterious lights leading a small boat to crash…
I fell in love with quirky, funny, female protagonists early in my reading life, starting with Ramona Quimby and her unique way of seeing the world. As a kid, I always felt different, you know? I was sensitive, shy, and observant, and I delighted in finding characters in books who also bucked up against what I thought of as typical. As a writer, I love writing interesting, unconventional women, and I love using humor to elevate my characters’ voices. I think humor is one of the best ways to establish voice and also, paradoxically, to navigate tragedy. I hope to write many more quirky, funny female characters in future books.
I laughed out loud reading Sara Pritchard’s Crackpots, the story of spunky Ruby Reese and her complicated coming-of-age. This book was a huge influence on the structure of my own novel. Pritchard plays with chronology and point of view in a way that made me think, wow, I didn’t know you could do that. And then, ooh, I want to do that. Lyrical, detailed, and hilarious, this ranks as one of my all-time faves.
When we first meet Ruby Reese she’s a spunky kid in a cowgirl hat, tap dancing her way through a slightly off-kilter 1950s childhood. With an insomniac mother and a demolitions-expert father, her entire family is what the residents of her small town would call "a bunch of crackpots." Despite the dramas of her upbringing, Ruby matures into a creative, introspective, and wholly beguiling woman. But her adulthood is marked by complex relationships and romantic missteps -- three unsuitable marriages, dramatic crushes, the complicated love between siblings. As Sara Pritchard deftly guides us through Ruby's story, from the present to…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I’m a native of Texas who loves bluebonnets, big skies, and barbecue! With 25+ books in print, I write about imperfect characters who discover their inner strength as they lean on God and learn to trust each other and themselves. I’m fascinated by the dynamics of personalities and relationships, as well as the backstories that made the individuals who they are now. If you’re looking for stories of true-to-life characters growing deeper in faith while dealing with all the messiness human relationships entail, here are some novels you may enjoy.
Grace Greene writes the ultimate “beach read”—endearing characters, descriptions that put you right there at oceanside, and a poignant blend of emotion and humor. I love how Lilliane, the heroine, discovers courage she never thought she had. A temporary job as a live-in caregiver begins merely as a way to earn money for much-needed home repairs. But her stay in Emerald Isle, NC, becomes a life-changer, not only for her but for the elderly gentleman who soon becomes both friend and mentor. It’s a book about stepping out of your comfort zone and opening your heart to new possibilities no matter your age. And if this novel stirs your heart as it did mine, you won’t want to miss the sequel, A Dancing Tide.
Grace Greene, USA Today Bestselling author, and author of Beach Rental, The Memory of Butterflies, and The Wildflower House Series, brings us A Barefoot Tide ~ a standalone novel set along the crystal coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle. From rural Virginia to coastal Carolina ~ Lilliane Moore leaves the forests and rolling hills of her rural Virginia hometown, Cub Creek, to accept a temporary job as a companion to an elderly man who lives at the beach. It’s a risky move that’s out of character for her, but her thirties are passing quickly—she feels…
